The Obama administration recently announced changes in U.S. policy toward Cuba, including lifting the ban on some types of travel between the two nations, expanding the scope of private humanitarian donations and lowering the “communications embargo.” As President Obama signals the start of a new era in U.S.-Cuban relations, how should America engage with Cuba and at what pace?

Over the past 18 months, the Brookings Project on U.S. Policy Toward a Cuba in Transition held a series of meetings and simulation exercises with distinguished academics, opinion leaders and international diplomats. The group produced a set of recommendations that would pave the way for increased engagement between the two nations and lead to normal bilateral relations over time.

On April 22, the Brookings Institution hosted a discussion of the project’s recent report, Cuba: A New Policy of Critical and Constructive Engagement. Project co-directors Carlos Pascual and Vicki Huddleston were joined by members of the project’s advisory group and Carl Meacham, an advisor to Senator Richard Lugar, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. After the program, the panelists took audience questions.